Georgia Construction and Business News

Sugar Hill City Council gave its nod to an access road through a median cut from Ga. 20 for a sports-cum-retail center, with great potential. It will build a short access road from Ga.20 north to 90 acres allocated for a public-private enterprise that will develop the sports-cum-retail center.

SUGAR HILL -- The Sugar Hill City Council in its recent meeting deliberated on what needs to be done following the Georgia Department of Transportation's decision to widen Ga. Highway 20 from Peachtree Industrial Boulevard to Ga.400.

The Council arrived at a decision to build a short access road from Ga.20 north to 90 acres allocated for a public-private enterprise. The area will potentially become Global Sport United's marquee sports and retail center between Sugar Hill Golf Course and the Chattahoochee River.

The road, one-third of a mile in length, will enable Gwinnett county to then make median cut from GDOT's proposed four-lane highway. The road is slated to be completed by August.

The council, in particular, voted for a contract with Gwinnet County to permit entry to the access road from both the sides on Ga.20. This in turn ensures effective use of land, on which Sugar Hill has high expectations.

Global Sports publicized its mixed-use project as a unique mix of athletic facilities with sports medicine offices and retail. A 260,000 square-foot facility combining sports medicine offices and a recreation center is part of its planned first phase. Global Sports is allegedly looking to benefit in more than one way. It has lease interest from medical and sports training entities: Georgia Sports Medicine and the Arthur Ashe Tennis Training and Education Center are two of them. Global Sports claimed it has endorsements from U.S. Soccer Federation, Georgia Soccer and the NBA Players Union.

Sugar Hill also vouched for a broken median access to the land, saying that such an enterprise needs access from Ga.20. "We want to keep this property viable for future citizens of Sugar Hill," City Manager Bob Hail told the council.

According to Hail, Sugar Hill will have to spend about $500,000 to build the road. This is also the cost at which GDOT is purchasing a road right of way from the city, in areas nearby. In a related development, the council discussed the estimated cost of relocating gas pipe beneath Ga. 20 and Suwanee Dam Road.

Sugar Hill had in the past informed Gwinnet and GDOT about the $646,000 needed to relocate gas lines beneath the highway. But of late, the city came to know that other lines beneath the Suwanee Dam also need to be relocated at a cost of $200,000.